Rabbits and Other Immigrants The Alan Parsons Story |
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| Author:
| Parsons, Julie Lenora |
| Illustrator:
| Parsons, Julie Lenora |
| Editor:
| Elgar, Mary |
| Designed by:
| Young, Rad |
| ISBN: | 978-0-6481573-0-4 |
| Publication Date: | Feb 2018 |
| Publisher: | Julie Parsons
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| Book Format: | Paperback |
| List Price: | AUD $80.00 |
Book Description:
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A memoir on arriving and thriving in West AustraliaThe story starts in England during the 1850s, in the village where Thomas Austin engaged farm boys for work on his station `Barwon Park¿, Victoria, Australia. Young George Parsons was one of those boys. Austin also collected English rabbits to take to his station. The rabbits were bred for hunting and released into the wild, quickly spreading across Australia. Young Parsons escaped from the station having endured cruelty there, finding...
More DescriptionA memoir on arriving and thriving in West AustraliaThe story starts in England during the 1850s, in the village where Thomas Austin engaged farm boys for work on his station `Barwon Park¿, Victoria, Australia. Young George Parsons was one of those boys. Austin also collected English rabbits to take to his station. The rabbits were bred for hunting and released into the wild, quickly spreading across Australia. Young Parsons escaped from the station having endured cruelty there, finding work with a carrier, his future father-in-law, in Portland and surrounds. Parsons bought farming land in Minyip, central Victoria, in 1877. After the Federation Drought in the 1900s, his son made his way past the rabbit-proof fence in WA to start a new life in Narrogin. Alan Parsons was born on the eve of the Great Depression and like his forefathers before him, was brought up on the land and taught how to supplement income with carting. The family, along with many others, survived the Depression by taking advantage of the commercial benefits of rabbits. After years of hard work, Alan Parsons gave up farming and, despite a severe speech impediment, set off into the world of selling. He was comforted by his family¿s motto, `hard work always brings good luck¿. Alan went on to become one of the most prolific farm machinery and truck dealers in the South West of Western Australia, and on occasion, in Australia; his competition stated they needed a `Parsons-proof fence¿. Alan took his business skills into the Bunbury community, supporting a number of notable causes where he was able to raise extraordinary funds to the benefit of others.